MCGREE, Thomas Michael
| Service Number: | 2850 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 October 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 40th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Turner's Marsh, Tasmania, Australia, 30 July 1892 |
| Home Town: | Karoola, Launceston, Tasmania |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Ancre Valley, France, 30 April 1918, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
Mericourt-L'Abbe Communal Cemetery Extension Mericourt-L'Abbe Communal Cemetery Extension, Mericourt-L'Abbe, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2850, 40th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Dec 1916: | Involvement Private, 2850, 40th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Orsova embarkation_ship_number: A67 public_note: '' | |
| 6 Dec 1916: | Embarked Private, 2850, 40th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Orsova, Melbourne | |
| 4 Oct 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2850, 40th Infantry Battalion, Broodseinde Ridge, GSW right thigh |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Jan Welsh
Thomas Michael McGree was born on 30 July 1892 at Turner's Marsh, Tasmania, son of a farmer Michael McGree and Mary née Welsh.
Thomas enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in Tasmania, on 17 October 1916. On 6 December as Private No. 2850 he embarked from Melbourne and after training in England, joined 40th Australian Infantry Battalion reinforcements in France, in August 1917. He was wounded (a severe gunshot to his right thigh) on 4 October, treated and convalesced in hospitals in England, then rejoined his Battalion in the field on 18 April 1918. Just 12 days later, on 30 April, Thomas was killed in action. The Unit had been cleaning up an unoccupied enemy post in the Ancre Valley when it was bombarded by enemy rifle grenades. Killed alongside Thomas was another Tasmanian, No. 5767 Lance Sergeant Benjamin Frederick Smart.
Thomas was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He is buried at Mericourt-L'Abbe Communal Cemetery Extension, France.
Biography contributed by Evan Evans
From Jan Jones, Tasmania in the Great War
Private 2850 THOMAS MICHAEL MCGREE and Lance Sergeant 5767 BENJAMIN FREDERICK SMART. Remembering two Tasmanian soldiers killed at the Western Front on this day, 30 April, in 1918.
Thomas McGree was born in 1892 at Turner's Marsh, North Eastern Tasmania, eldest son of Michael McGree and Mary Welsh. He enlisted in the AIF in October 1916, joining 40th Battalion reinforcements in France in August 1917. On 4 October 1917 (Broodseinde Ridge) he sustained a severe gunshot wound to his right thigh, resulting in six months' treatment and convalescence in England. He rejoined his Unit on 18 April, 1918 then 12 days later, on 30 April, Thomas was killed in action. According to the Unit's War Diary, the Patrol had been cleaning up an unoccupied enemy post in the Ancre Valley when it was bombarded by rifle grenades, resulting in two casualties.
Private 2850 THOMAS MICHAEL MCGREE was killed alongside Lance Sergeant 5767 BENJAMIN FREDERICK SMART. Remembering two Tasmanian soldiers killed at the Western Front on this day, 30 April, in 1918.
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